The inlet and outlet valves of internal combustion engines control the transfer of gases into and out of the engine and seal the engine. The development of engines with increasingly high power increases the stresses on the valves, especially the outlet valves. The outlet valves may reach operating temperatures of about 850.degree. C. Inlet valves are operated at lower temperatures because of the flow of cool fuel mixtures and seldom reach temperatures above 550.degree. C.
Because of these operating conditions, the materials used in the valves must have high thermal resistance. Other requirements for valves are shown in FIG. 1. See V. Schuler, T. Kreul, S. Engineer: "Special Quality Constructional Steels in Motorcars", Thyssen Technischen Berichte 2 (1986), pages 233-240.
Special valve materials have been developed to provide these properties, as specified by DIN 17480. See "Valve Materials", Beuth Verlag GmbH, Berlin 30 (September 1984). Three categories of material are used for this purpose:
martensitic-carbidic steels, such as materials Nos. 1.4718, 1.4731, 1.4748. PA0 austenitic-carbidic steels, some of them precipitation hardenable, such as materials Nos. 1.4873, 1.4875, 1.4882, 1.4785 and PA0 austenitic-precipitation hardenable alloys, such as materials Nos. 2.4955, 2.4952.
When designing valves subjected to different loads, valve manufacturers take into account the properties of the valve materials. For example, lightly loaded inlet valves are frequently produced from a single metal, e.g. 1.4719 (X 45 CrSi 9 3). These are called monovalves. Hardened and tempered ground rods are, for example, partially heated and hot formed into a pear shape. Then the valve disc is formed by drop forging. This is followed by hardening and tempering, and, then, the final machining.
In the case of heavily stressed outlet valves, valve materials often find it necessary to combine materials appropriately with one another. As shown in FIG. 1, which illustrates a bimetallic valve, the high heat resistance and resistance to hot gas corrosion of precipitation hardenable austenitic steel can be combined with the high wear resistance to and the low friction properties of hardenable martensitic steel and, by friction welding, a valve disc of steel 1.4871 (X 53 CrMnNiN 2 1 9) and steel 1.4718 (X 45 CrSi 9 3)
In the present state of the art, more than half the total valve material requirements for inlet valves and lightly-stressed outlet valves, and also for the stems of bimetallic inlet and outlet valves, are met with steel 1.4718 (X 45 CrSi 9 3) or modifications of that material. These steels are processed by steel and valve manufacturers in accordance with the production sequence shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.